Park & Recreation Advisory Board

Public Services – Parks & Recreation REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF THE ANOKA PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 COUNCIL WORK SESSION ROOM OF ANOKA CITY HALL 2015 FIRST AVENUE, ANOKA MN MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Steve Nelson, Mark Beckenbach, Bob Erickson, Mary Blankenship, Derek Sebesta, Don Rowell, Joe Anderla, and Kirk Schnitker STAFF PRESENT: Lisa LaCasse, Public Services Administrator and Jon Holmes, Public Services Supervisor APPROVE MINUTES There being no corrections to last meetings minutes. A motion was made by Schnitker, seconded by Rowell to APPROVE THE August 15, 2023 REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD. 8 ayes – 0 nays. Motion carried. OPEN FORUM None. NEW BUSINESS Grey Ghost Field / ARAA Dome In the packet is info from last night’s Council meeting. Staff also emailed a link prior to the meeting to view the video discussion of council from the September 11th Council work session meeting. LaCasse stated that if members had an opportunity to listen to just the first 5 minutes of the meeting, they would have an understanding of where Council is standing with this topic. At one-point Scott, Skogquist and Weaver stated “I am all in” on selling Grey Ghost Field to Anoka Ramsey Athletic Association (ARAA) for $1.00. ARAA has been working with the City of Ramsey for years on a building the US largest dome facility. They had bought private land and had plans to build a dome larger than the one they are proposing for Anoka, but there are issues with the city of Ramsey Scott Baumgartner was asked to inquire about opportunities to work with the City of Anoka and seek a location for a dome. A few sites were proposed and ARAA came back with revised site plans for a dome at Grey Ghost Field. The board has the opportunity to provide feedback, ask questions and identify any areas of concern. ARAA is the primary user of Grey Ghost for lacrosse. There is some usage from St. Stephens and Legacy Christian Academy only uses the soccer field. This fall, Pact Charter had inquired about usage of the fields, but they were directed to use Sunny Acres/Enloe because the lights and it fit their needs better since they are holding practices mainly in the evening. ARAA has said that their intention is that during Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board September 19, 2023 Page 2 periods of non-use that this would be a facility open to the community, so like an open gym setting or even some community programming. Nelson spoke directly with Baumgartner prior to the meeting. Nelson commented that Baumgartner seemed to have the parking situation nailed down, but the question is when there’s another event at the high school, ice arena, and even castle field, what would the impacts be then for parking. LaCasse said that the City does have a parking agreement with the ice arena for using the grey ghost and castle field parking lots when overflow parking is needed, and vise-versa if overflow parking is needed for grey ghost or castle field that the ice arena lot can be utilized. Staff does agree that parking could be an issue at points, LaCasse has been to enough youth sport activities to know that when there are tournaments the parking fills up fast. LaCasse mentioned that the high school has a newly constructed turf field behind the school and there are build out plans that include stadium seating in the future. Erickson made an argument that if there are multiple fields in the dome for tournaments like pickleball and volleyball, then parking needs will increase due to having that many more people in the facility. LaCasse directed the board to look at page 2 and 3 under this item in the packet and find the proposed site plan draft. The way that the structure is oriented there might be room on the north side of it for additional parking. The structure also looks like it will be overlapping the trail that goes to the pedestrian bridge across Bunker, which will need to be rerouted and will cost more money. There are also power lines that will need to be moved or buried. LaCasse asked how the board felt about the trail, is rerouting it something the city should be paying for or should it required to be a part of ARAAs project. The board agreed that ARAA should be paying for those expenses and not the city. Blankenship stated that ARAA should also pay closing costs if any, the tax payers shouldn’t have to pay that either. Blankenship also asked about community use and how that would all work out. LaCasse said that ARAA would establish times for general public use. Sebesta asked about the expectations on our end for general public use, like a required percentage of time per month required to be open to the general public. He brought up how Delano made a similar agreement with the high schools’ dome so that they have set general public use times, but every year it gets worse and worse with times just being random and not functional and the public hours are also the first ones to get booted for tournaments. Sebesta asked who upkeeps the property right now. LaCasse said that the city mows, irrigates and fertilizes it so there will be a cost/time savings for us there. ARAA does pay us to paint the lines of the fields, but all other maintenance costs are on the city. The city will save the most on the irrigation and staff time costs. Schnitker stated that the board needs to be thorough in what they want addressed with ARAA, whether that’s the trail, parking or stormwater. With his legal background he has seen these kinds of projects fail so after the fact of it being built, what happens if the organization fails 5 years from now because of pull tabs no longer being a thing or some financial hardship with the organization, would the city want the land back. Those are things that need to be addressed. The board had conversation about their concern if pull tabs went to the wayside and ARAA still being able to pay their bills since pull tabs and gambling is a huge source of revenue for them. Anderla asked if any Council members are against this. LaCasse said the whole council is in favor of this facility. Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board September 19, 2023 Page 3 Council is asking for input from the board and any questions or concerns. This project could spur economic development for the City because it could bring hotels and additional restaurants into town on the corner of 7th Ave & Bunker Lake Blvd. This could either be a really good cooperative programing opportunity for the benefit of the community. The City of Andover and the YMCA have had a lot of battles regarding membership and community use. Sebesta asked about the other 5% of organizations that use the park, will there be other spaces in the city for them to play. LaCasse said that staff would work with those organizations or schools to move them to other fields. Nelson would love to see this work but has adversity due to the possible financial risk. LaCasse said that there is money in athletics, which ebbs and flows with different types of sports. Nelson mentioned that we also have no idea what sort of investors they have in on this project. General Summary of Conversation Provided to Council: • The majority of members appeared to support the sale of field to ARAA for this project. The board understands the need and desire for something like this in the community. • A few members have concerns about the viability of the long term operation of a dome … board members change, sport popularity changes/shifts, capital outlay for future repairs, etc. • Does ARAA’s have a business/operating plan for the dome? Do they have the ability to be self-sustaining without gambling funds, etc., has the city inquired about this? • What happens if the project fails – whether that is financial failure of ARAA to operate the dome, to pay their bond payments, or the failure of dome due to a tragic weather event and inability to repair? What is the financial liability for the city, if any? • What is the timeline for construction? If construction is delayed, will ARAA maintain the property/mow (or pay the City or a contractor for mowing) until they are able to break ground? What is the use of the property in the future if construction is delayed? • Does the park system have another location for the other users of Gray Ghost Field like St. Stephens … it is staff’s opinion that Bonnell Field could be used for non-ARAA field uses • Staff would like to salvage the irrigation pump and heads, fencing, tall posts & over kick netting, and the retaining wall blocks if grades are changed along Castle Field Blvd and the wall is no longer needed. 1. Trail Relocation / Pedestrian Crossings: a. Cost to relocate the pedestrian trail from the walk bridge to the west side of the dome should be covered by ARAA and should re-align with the existing pedestrian crossing on Castle Field Blvd b. Increased traffic on Castle Field Boulevard may require upgrades to pedestrian crossings and the addition of a crossing on the east side of the dome. City should determine if signalized, flashing warning lights are needed at crossing points due to road grade and future increased use. c. Board was very clear that they do not think the city should pay for any trail relocation or pedestrian upgrades needed due to the increase traffic created by the project. This should be ARAA responsibility. 2. Parking Concerns: a. Is there a determination on how much parking is needed for a facility the size based on their typical planned use for sports training/practice? And tournament/events? Who determines what is sufficient for parking? For example, what happens when the school and dome have uses with large crowds expected and where is the overflow? Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board September 19, 2023 Page 4 b. Is ARAA planning to add parking on the north side of the facility or expanding the existing gray ghost parking lot on the east side of the dome by the water treatment building? c. There is an existing shared use agreement in place for Ice Arena/Gray Ghost/Castle Field lots. The use of the Ice Arena lot by Castle Field during the summer, and Castle Field and Gray Ghost lots by the Ice Arena in the winter. Several members have experienced attendance at these facilities where the lots were full and spilled over into the high school parking lot. Peak usage for the dome will likely overlap with the Ice Arena… October – April, 4pm – 11pm; d. The board supports the need for the parking agreement with the High School. Is there any planned expansion of parking by the high school with future plans of use of the new turf field on the school property? 3. Closing costs, filing fees for lot splits, etc. if any, should be the responsibility of ARAA and not the tax payer 4. Public Use – this has been mentioned as a desire of the project, but what is the expectation, should this use be defined, who pays for the public use? a. How does this realistically impact ARAA’s business plan and intended use for the facility. b. Is the public charged a membership or daily fee or what is the city’s obligation for this time allocation? For the sale price of $1….what is realistic for on-going use c. Public use should be coordinated with the city and not dictated by ARAA. If ARAA is not open to this then, perhaps land sale amount should be at market value. d. Is it realistic to expect ‘public use’ for $1 land sale or is there going to be additional financial contributions from the city required or anticipated to support this project/operation? 5. Fireworks/ July 3 a. Non-negotiable, no competing fundraising event with Castle Field Association’s event from 4pm – 11pm on July 3 b. How far away does the fallout zone for the fireworks need to be from the dome to not cause concern? How does that impact the use of high school property and event viewing c. Maybe the city should pursue an agreement with the high school for this event to move elsewhere on their property. 6. Storm water and pond location needs to be handled in a manner that makes sense with the topography of the site Update Tobacco Free Parks Policy to include Cannabis Use in Public Spaces • Review & Discussion The information in the packet is a precursor to next month’s discussion about this topic and updating the existing policy which is very simplistic; it was adopted in 2004 prior to vaping. It was an outside organization that came to the city regarding smoke free parks. LaCasse would like the board to read through the information provided in the packet prior to next month and provide feedback if there is specific information they feel should be included. LaCasse would like to see the Aquatic Center have tighter restrictions than other parks. Staff will work with Baumgartner to develop a new policy for review in October. Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board September 19, 2023 Page 5 UNFINISHED BUSINESS River Walk / West Rum River Trail LaCasse gave an update on the project. In the packet is the current alignment and on the 4th page shows the full alignment. Originally the trail was going to come in close to the amphitheater but now the trail will be started closer to the Walker on the River property to make the grades easier to work with for ADA. In the preliminary design, there was a stairway to make a short cut on the path, but that idea is being taken out due to the need to create a retaining wall. Staff is currently working through permitting and the cultural resource study has been finalized. The current wait is on the State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) to give their approval. We are looking at sending the project out for bid before the end of the year and then start the tree clearing. We need to start construction right away in the spring because as we need this finished by June 30th, 2024 unless the DNR is able to give us an extension on the grant deadline. During the next month or so, the consultant will be collecting the tree inventory to determine what trees will be removed, creating the landscaping plan and completing permitting requirements with the LRRWMO and MNDOT. The trail will have similar site amenities to the Rum River Trail in Riverfront Park so that the east and west side is cohesive when complete. It will feel segmented until the next phase is completed. The project is moving slower than staff had hoped because permitting has been an arduous process. Nelson asked when the last time the pedestrian bridge was inspected. LaCasse said that Ben Nelson, the cities Engineer gets it inspected when the Main Street Bridge is inspected. Doggie Bags in Parks This topic was sparked from an email from Schnitker inquiring about making doggie bags available in the parks. The board has talked about this topic in the past. Staff has talked to the City of Ramsey about this, since they have dog bags in their parks. Ramsey spends about $6000 a year on doggie bags, they have said people just take them because the dispenser always gets emptied right away. Blankenship asked if there has been a lot of complaints about dog waste. LaCasse said not necessarily, there are some really good dog owners and some habitual offenders, we know one guy would not use a bag even if we had them. Schnitker said that he had emailed LaCasse asking about it because a Council member had brought it up to him. LaCasse said that even in a dog park where bags are provided, some people don’t pick up after their pets. LaCasse suggested that we could spend $1000 on a dog bag leash clips to giveaway at one of our events and likely have better long term results. Park Vandalism Update There has still been a bit of graffiti happening around the city. The biggest situation lately was that the door was left unlocked at Sorenson and 2 young kids got in there, they trashed the place and destroyed a lot of the kindness rock garden stuff. The police did catch the kids, they had granola bars and little bottles of paint on their persons. The MN Kindness Alliance that organizes the rock garden has been working with the police to see if these kids can come back and clean it up as part of their resolution. Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board September 19, 2023 Page 6 Nelson asked if the bench at the ANP has been replaced. LaCasse said that staff is looking at finding a log to make a natural bench. Anderla asked if there are capabilities for camera system at any of the parks. LaCasse said the cameras require WI-FI connection to be worth anything. Akin does have cameras. Sunny Acres maybe an option for a Wi-Fi camera system, updating the park lighting along the trail may also help deter people from vandalizing the area. Archery Hunting Update Jenks provided handout with all the hunters’ information in the packet. There has already been one deer harvested on opening weekend in Sunny Acres. Rowell said there were lots of pictures of deer on his trail cam at Sunny. LaCasse said that Jenks is working to get additional signage for the hunting areas. COMMUNICATIONS • The Council has requested staff to present information on the Skating Rink Operations for their worksession on Sept 25. Park Board members are welcome to attend. • The flyer of upcoming events in the city has been provided to the board • The MN Kindness Alliance is doing a ribbon cutting for the rock garden on September 30th • The Church of the Latter- Day Saints will be helping clean up the cemetery on September 29th • There is a Waterfowl for Warriors hunt on September 29th • There is two weeks of the Farmers Market left • Volunteers are needed for the Halloween pickleball and bean bags tournaments (Schnitker volunteered to assist with the bags tournament) ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Cannabis in parks Skating Rinks (follow up to Council Discussion) Adjournment There being no further discussion, a motion was made by Schnitker, seconded by Erickson, to ADJOURN THIS REGULAR MEETING. 8 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. Time of adjournment 9:07 pm Respectfully Submitted, Lisa LaCasse, Public Services Administrator